Slavorum Apostoli

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Vatican by Augustinus

Slavorum Apostoli

the cultish practices it spread through Using Cyril and Methodius to symbolize the common roots of such as Cyril and Methodius, is the East and West, raises many ambiguities. theology of the Eastern totalitarian state, submerging the individual. The conversion of the Slavs was an operation conducted and coordi nated by imperial Byzantium, which utilized pagan cults and syncretic re ligious mixtures centered around the On July 2, Pope John Paul II issued "The characteristic which I want Mithra cult, the official mystery reli his fourth encyclical: Slavorum Apos to underline in a special way in the gion of theLegions of the Roman Em toli, on the Slavic church, highlight conduct of the apostles to the Slavs, pire. Is it accidental that the basilicas ing the roles of Cyril and Methodius, Cyril and Methodius, is their peaceful in which the bodies of the two mis two brothersfrom Salonica who evan way of building the Church, guided sionaries are buried, Cyril in St. gelized the Slavs in the 9th century. by their vision of the Church as one, Clement's in Rome and Methodius in The encyclical comes at a time when holy, and universal." He says that the Vehelrad in Czeckoslovakia, both the Soviets have gone to great lengths two brothers maintained respectful re arose on the remains of important sites to prevent any kind of contact between lations with the Roman pontiff, while of the Mithra cult? the Pope and the Slavic peoples. being part of the Eastern Church: The noted expert on Slavic reli The Russian Orthodox hierarchy "They were authentic percursors of gion, the Dominican Father Jiri Maria has repeatedly and violently attacked ecumenism. . . . For us men of today Vesely, correctly stresses: the Pope for his opposition to the pro their apostolate also possesses the el "Not accidentally it was the By Marxist Theology of Liberation. A oquence of an ecumenical appeal: It is zantine Patriarch Photius, bitter ene Bulgarian delegation which went to an invitation to rebuild, in the peace my of the Filioque, who sent the two the Vatican stated clearly that if the of reconciliation, the unity which was missionaries among the Slavs to investigations continued into the gravely undermined after the times of counter the movements inside the "Bulgarian connection" to the May 13, Saints Cyril and Methodius and, inthe Churchwhich wanted the introduction 1981 attempt on the Pope's life, an very firstplace, theunity between East of the Filioque into the Credo." entire people would be blamed. Last and West." The Pope appearsto have kept this year the Pope was refused permission The document ends with a prayer little problem in mind, and seems to to go to Lithuania for celebrations in critical of the Soviet regime, that re try to "Westernize" the two mission honor of St. Casimir. And Czech au ligious freedom be granted to the aries: "Even if the Slavic Christians, thorities refused to allow the Pope to Slavic peoples, so that "men and na more than the others, gladly perceive attend July 7 celebrations in honor of tions can continue again without ob the sainted Brothers as 'Slavs at heart,' Cyril and Methodius, at Vehelrad in stacles" to exercise freedom of con they nonetheless remained men of Czechoslovakia. science, the freedom to live and pro Hellenistic culture and Byzantine for By issuing the encyclical now, the fess the faith. mation, men, that is, who in every Vatican is undoubtedly trying to open Using Cyril and Methodius as thing belonged to the traditionof East up a dialogue with the Slavic peoples, symbols of the common roots between ern Christianity, both civil and despite the hostile propaganda cam East andWest opensthe doors to many ecclesiastic. " paigns of those regimes. Cyril and ambiguities, however. The two Slavic It has been emphasized that the Methodius are the saints most vener brothers spread among the Slavs an Pope's encyclical is strictly religious. atedin the countries of Eastern Europe. anti-Christian doctrine, rejecting the However, given thatthe epistemolog

Unlike earlier encyclicals, Slavo Augustinian Filioque-that the Holy ical and philosophical basis of the So rum Apostoli is in the style of an epis Spirit flows alike fromFather and Son, viet system is precisely that paganism tle, a less solemn genre, more focused who is both Man and God, the foun against which St. Augustine and his on a specifictheme. John Paul II traces dation of the value assigned to the cre successors fought, it is unlikely that the lives of Cyril and Methodius, ative individual in Western culture. any discussion of Christianity in the praising their methods: By contrast, the Eastern Church, and East can be nonpolitical.

EIR July 19, 1985 International 49